90 THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 
waiting they can, I presume, secure passage in a much 
more agreeable fluid. But in the normal early river 
the early fish have already advanced well up stream 
before winter descends upon the hills. If they 
encounter floods of cold, suowy water they may drop 
back to the warmer estuary if they have not ascended 
to upper waters, but in Scotland we have not evi- 
dence that clean fish are in any sense temporary 
visitors to fresh water or habitually drop back into 
the sea. In Ireland the evidence secured by mark- 
ing clean fish seems to point to a rather different 
conclusion, as described by Mr. Holt.* Out of 
thirteen recaptured Irish clean fish there is evidence 
that three were in the sea in the interval. These 
fish were numbered 433 pb, 858 D, and 861 D, and 
the last two were presumably feeding in the sea, 
since each on recapture showed an increase in weight, 
858 of 24 lb. with an interval of thirty-seven days, 
861 an estimated increase of 1 or 2 lb. and an 
interval of thirty-nine days. Mr. Holt further states 
that this is in conformity with the belief held at Lis- 
more that these winter fish make only a temporary 
stay in fresh water, and are by those who catch them 
commonly called ‘“ droppers,” from their habit of 
dropping down stream. This view is moreover 
strengthened by the fact that 858 D was recaptured 
in the sea, in Youghal harbour, about eighteen miles 
below Lismore weir in the Blackwater, where the 
fish was marked. I am not aware that anywhere in 
Scotland the view is held that clean winter fish are 
only temporary visitors to fresh water. 
* Report for 1901, Part IL., “Scientific Investigations,” p. 195. 
